Arsenal's Mesut Ozil baffled by furore over half-time shirt-swap

Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has claimed that his decision to swap shirts with Monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia at half time of their Champions League clash has been blown out of proportion.

The German World Cup winner was criticised by ITV pundit Paul Scholes for making the exchange midway through the Gunners' 2-0 win in France, which wasn't enough to put them through to the quarter-finals.

"Geoffrey Kondogbia asked me for my shirt and I wanted to do him a favour," Ozil told Sky Sports Germany.

"Maybe I should have given him the shirt in the tunnel. But seriously guys, is there nothing more important to discuss for a knockout game than a shirt swap?"

Arsenal were one of three English teams, including Chelsea and Manchester City, who failed to progress from the last-16 stage of the tournament.